Where There's A Will
by Xyros
Summary: The fleet saw a massive bright light. Hackett saw an exceptional soldier. Kaidan saw his world go up in flames. One man will fight through death to find his way back, even against odds most people wouldn't even take on.


_A/N – so, funny thing. I turned around and shot the little boy pretending to be the catalyst and he said 'so be it' in this creep ass voice that sounded just like a reaper. Therefore, I'm going with the theory of the catalyst trying to trick Shepard into choosing one of the three shitty choices that Bioware gave us. In this version, Shepard shoots the catalyst and goes back to the console that you can see behind the creepy ghost boy. One big white explosion later and the Reapers are so much fried chicken. Oh, and Shepard is Colonist/Paragade/Vanguard/Sole Survivor and it's an MShep/Kaidan ship, so no like, no read._

"You must choose"

Shepard took in the three options and called bull shit. _So either I commit mass genocide, become another catalyst with horrible decision making skills, or play at being a god. Right, no contest._ Shepard turned away from the three paths in front of him and, raising the pistol he managed to keep with him, shot the catalyst. That done, he made his way painstakingly over to the console that had opened the citadel arms. Holstering the pistol, he typed in a couple commands and opened a comm. channel.

"….mande…command…Shepard come in." Hackett's voice came in over the comm.

"This is Shepard, I'm activating the Crucible."

"Commander, what's your status? We haven't been able to get in touch with Anderson." Looking down at the bullet wound in his abdomen, he sighed.

"Anderson's dead, so is-"a hacking cough that seemed to reverberate deep in his chest overtook him. Coughing out blood he went on, "so is the Illusive Man." There was a pause over the static sounds, then,

"And yourself?" Hackett's voice held a tone of weary resignation in it.

"I'll finish this war Admiral." Hackett took the answer for what it was. Another cough overtook him for several seconds. Gathering his strength for one last request while typing in the last few commands on the console, he asked,

"Sir, I have a request."

"Speak freely, Commander."

"Tell the Normandy that…it w-was an hon-honor serving with them. And… t-tell Major Alenko I…that I-" Abruptly cutting off, the sound of something impacting the floor reached across the comm. channel.

"Commander? Commander Shepard?" Silence was all that greeted him. Continuing to hail the silent communicator, Hackett was abruptly cut off with the Crucible emitting a wave of pure blinding light, to bright to look at. For one terrifying second the voices of the Reapers rose in a terrible scream which was cut off when the light reached them. The wave encompassed the whole of Earth before being sucked back into the Crucible, and then firing at the Mass Relay.

The Sol System was silent for a minute, the galaxy taking a breath, before it exploded into sound. All across the planet and fleet people were laughing and shouting that the war was over. Admiral Hackett allowed a small smile to crack his stoic façade before looking to the Citadel. And orbiting Earth, still stunned with the last transmission that their Commander sent, was the SSV Normandy.

In the cockpit of the Normandy no one made a sound, too busy staring at the consol that had just gone silent. Joker and EDI were glancing between the consol, Garrus, and Kaidan; Garrus was supporting Kaidan and restraining him at the same time; and Kaidan, the focus of the three, is frozen, staring at the consol with a devastated expression on his face. The slightest whisper of "Shepard..." leaves his lips, and it seems that this is enough to break him from his stupor. Tears glimmer in his eyes and he fell to the ground, unresponsive. Garrus sits with him but looks to Joker, saying,

"We need to get to the Citadel"

A hacking cough filled the night air. _Dammit, I can't breathe with all this dust. _Looking down as far as his body would let him, Shepard took in his battered chest and burned uniform. _I'm guessing a caved lung isn't helping _he thought wryly. He attempted to move his arm and gasped at the burning sensation that brought. Laying still for a moment he collected himself and tried again. It took several tries but eventually he reached his goal; the omnitool on his left hand. He needed medi-gel if he had any hope of making it out alive.

Shepard looked at the beeping icon on the tool, signaling damage and, more importantly, the low amount of medi-gel available. _Great. _ Taking the precious gel he carefully applied it to the gunshot wound on his abdomen. There wasn't nearly enough to stop the bleeding, _but at least I'm not gushing blood anymore. Now, to get out of here._ Looking around Shepard saw a few pieces of rubble, the least of which was currently trapping his legs. Groaning at the stabbing sensation it brought he sat up, attempting to move the stone. However in his weakened state the pillar didn't budge.

_I make it to the beam, through the Illusive Man, and finally some god-child, only to be taken out by an inanimate piece of rock!? Screw that. I'm getting out of here, one way or another. Kaidan…_ the blue glow of biotics materialized around his body before forcefully pushing the pillar off his legs. Thoroughly exhausted at the effort, Shepard nonetheless forced himself to his feet, stumbling more than walking and having to use the various pieces of detritus to stay standing.

He stumbled for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes. Far enough to realize that he had no idea where he was on the citadel. He thought he heard voices shouting in the distance but shrugged it off as hearing things. Finally coming to some form of exit, it was blocked by a pile of rubble. The voices were growing louder. _Huh, that almost sounds like Kaidan…_ He needed to get through the doorway. So he was going to make a new door. Once again the blue of biotics surrounded him. With an almighty yell he shoved his hand forward and blasted the rubble apart.

Shepard wavered on his feet, vision flickering. Gasping as the agonizing pain returned full force he clutched at his side, collapsing forward. Something caught him though, and prevented him from falling all the way to the floor. The hands carefully turned him over onto his back and held him close. They were saying something but everything was graying out at the edges. Opening his eyes Shepard saw heaven. Or at least his version of it.

He reached one shaking hand up to the face above him, whispering, "Kaidan…" before collapsing back, eyes closing. He never felt the shaking or shouted orders. He was surrounded by numbing darkness and a smiling man embracing him. "Kaidan…"

It was like one of those bad movies where you think it's slow motion but in reality everything is speeding up until you're not sure what just happened till you're kneeling on the ground praying for it to stop. At least that's what Kaidan was thinking.

One second the group is spread out in a search party, the next the wall in front of them is blown outwards. Thinking the reapers were back Kaidan shouted out to the rest of the party, turning to throw a warp at the enemies, only to freeze at the man standing in the new doorway. Shepard stood, arm outstretched, biotics flaring outwards, and it was like nothing was wrong.

Then the biotics flickered out, the arm dropped, and Shepard seemed to stumble almost before falling backwards, like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Shepard!" Kaidan had never run so fast in his life, sliding over the rubble strewn floor and catching him. He quickly turned Shepard over, yelling to the others that he'd found Shepard, only to quiet as a bloodied hand reached for his face.

"Kaidan…" The barest brush of the whisper reached his ears just as Shepard sank into unconsciousness. Now terrified that he wouldn't wake up again Kaidan shook him over and over again, trying to get him to wake up. But he wouldn't.

"Wake up Shepard! Please, don't do this to me! Come on, wake up, p-please, w-wake up…"

A month passed by in agonizing slowness. All the fleets had returned to their home worlds, collaborating with the pseudo-council in place to get galactic civilization back up and running again. Earth was still devastated in the aftermath, but people were pulling together to rebuild. However, the universe was collectively holding its breath, waiting for the man who made it all possible to wake up.

In the remains of the once F.O.B. a medical hospital had been set up. And in the corner near a curtained off area sat some of the wars most renowned heroes. Garrus and Tali were sitting close together, murmuring about their plans for the future. Liara was going over a few data tablets with Wrex and Jack sitting next to her and telling some of their favorite battles. All talking stopped when Miranda stepped out in front of the curtain. She quietly shook her head and went to sit with Liara. After a few seconds, the talking resumed, albeit with a slightly more solemn undertone.

Behind the curtain, hooked up to a respirator and heart monitor, lay Commander Shepard. His face was still slightly bruised and his abdomen was tightly bound, but overall he was on the way to recovery. But he still hadn't woken up.

Sitting in a chair next to the bed was Kaidan, holding Shepards hand like a lifeline. His head was buried into Shepards side and was exhausted, worry lines etched into his face, making him appear years older. A blip on the monitor.

"Shepard, you have to wake up now. You said you'd come back. Please…" Another blip on the monitor.

"I just want to hold you again…" The blip made a slightly higher pitched sound. A hand weakly grasping another. An intake of breath.

"Kaidan…" Said man shot his head up, painful hope in his eyes. Shepards eyes were open and looking at him. Slowly, as if afraid it was a dream, Kaidan reached his other hand to Shepards cheek, caressing it with a feather light touch. Confirming it was real, a smile broke over his face and he gave a small laugh.

"Hi. Welcome back." Shepard just grinned and said, "It's good to be back."

_A/N – so, might continue this, depends if anyone wants me to or not. Meant to be a one-shot, but if you guys want more then let me know. Fair warning, I'm terrible at updates, but I actually like this story, so that's a point in your favor._


End file.
